Prohibition Orders Include Fraud Scheme that Killed Small D.C. CU

Prohibition orders issued Thursday by the NCUA include one involving a tiny credit union that couldn’t recover from the theft, and was merged.

All former credit union employees receiving the orders are banned from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution.

Tiffany Samuells, a former employee of the $7 million Clara Barton Federal Credit Union in Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Samuells was sentenced to 15 months in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $497,150.

According to an FBI release, Samuells and another Clara Barton employee issued fraudulent loans without members’ knowledge or consent. Other loans were issued in exchange for receiving a portion of the loan proceeds.

Samuells also withdrew and transferred money from members’ accounts into hers, often after the credit union had closed for the day. Clara Barton merged with the $15.5 billion Pentagon FCU in November 2008.

Brian E. Tyler, a former manager of East Kentucky Employees FCU in Winchester, Ky., was convicted of embezzlement. Tyler was sentenced to one year in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $104,684.81. He pleaded guilty June 25, 2012, in Lexington, Ky. federal court to charges that he created a secret account and transferred $100,000 into it from another account. According to press reports, Tyler shredded documents and created a fake loan to cover the theft, and used most of the money to purchase a home. He also stole other funds from the credit union and used a company credit card to make fraudulent purchases.

The $27 million EKEFCU was merged into the $340 million Members Heritage FCU effective Sept. 1, 2012.

Teresa D. Johnson, a former employee of the $825 million SAFE FCU in Sumter, S.C., pleaded guilty to the charge of embezzlement. Johnson was sentenced to 21 months in prison, five years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $241,272.90.

Aimee Lyn Bailey, a former employee of the $502 million Credit Union of America of Wichita, Kan., was convicted of theft. Bailey was sentenced to 24 months’ probation, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,773.14.

Raymond Cordero, a former employee of the $248 million Envision Credit Union of Tallahassee, Fla., pleaded nolo contendere to counts of bank fraud, fraudulent use of a credit card, criminal use of personal information and grand theft. Cordero was sentenced to 45 days in prison, four years of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount $11,887.

Kristi Lynn Hunter, a former employee of the $62 million Russell Country FCU of Great Falls, Mont., was convicted of embezzlement. The court deferred the imposition of sentence for a period of four years and ordered Hunter to pay restitution in the amount of $4,928.78.